This guy fights almost perfect. Perfect timing, great striking, and from what I saw last night, solid BJJ. I've never seen him remotely in any trouble what so ever and BJ Penn even said that Machida is the only person to ever beat him in BJJ in a MMA fight. Everyone's talking about Jardine and Forrest, what about Machida? I admit, sometimes he has "boring" fights, but he's so talented and will be very very hard to beat at 205. Who should he fight? Chuck, Jardine, Forrest, Wanderlei, Houston, or even Rampage??

I see a very bright future for this talented up and coming 205 fighter, maybe even a championship belt.

NatedawgThaM

9/23/07 4:46:33PM

Yeah he is! He did way better last night because he actually was sort of agressive!!!

I'm praying for him to be Shogun's comeback match because that would be the ultimate test to see if he is the actual real deal or not!!!

juanez13

9/23/07 4:50:40PM

i think he should fight jardine, but maybe a fight with chuck would be good for him to get more popularity, but no doubt that if he beats forrest, or jardine people will notice him....

Twenty20Dollars

9/23/07 5:07:35PM

It's just does he has that killer instinct to finish fights or just decisions, dont get me wrong I like decisions sometimes if its a war, diego vs karo, tavares vs griffin.

I say give Machida a real contender and see what he's got.

cmill21

9/23/07 5:31:36PM

I don't understand, did you guys not see him jump on nak? He through heavy shots, naks just a tough guy. It's hard to Ko guys when they won't go to sleep.

warglory

9/23/07 6:34:59PM

Ya know, Machida will have his day in the sun. Much like Fitch, he just needs to keep winning and find his niche. This win over an internationally recognized fighter such as Nakamura is a huge step up for him. His next opponent will definitely be a contender. I personally believe he will be the champ by next year.

MALICE

9/23/07 6:51:07PM

The only thing is, out of 11 fights, he has 7 decisions. He hasn't finished a fight in the UFC. I think Alexander would be a good fight, because he will force the pace on Machida. Forcing Machida to either finish the fight(probably by submission), or get pounded on by a strong aggressive fighter, which may lead to a loss by KO/TKO.

buckndro

9/23/07 6:59:21PM

he looked great an has beaten some top names his last match was a great one i thought an he still his young could use him to face some of the other many upcoming guys

warglory

9/23/07 7:06:03PM

Posted by xxMALICExx

The only thing is, out of 11 fights, he has 7 decisions. He hasn't finished a fight in the UFC. I think Alexander would be a good fight, because he will force the pace on Machida. Forcing Machida to either finish the fight(probably by submission), or get pounded on by a strong aggressive fighter, which may lead to a loss by KO/TKO.

Why is finishing such a big deal? Sherk's last 3 out of 4 fights in the UFC have been decision victories, I don't see people criticizing him for not decisively winning fights, the only thing I see people being annoyed by is the fact that he lays and prays. Machida is much more dynamic than Sherk. The man wins fights, and probably would have knocked out Nakamura if he wasn't such a seasoned vet with a chin.

KissMyBallz

9/23/07 7:32:46PM

I love Machida's traditional Karate Stance he brings into Modern MMA. He is very good. I just think right now he lacks some killer instinct. He doesent have that finishing brutal mode yet.

If Machida gets that Killer instinct?

watch out.

MALICE

9/23/07 7:33:05PM

Yes, I agree. Machida is far more well-rounded than Sherk. I would just like to see him fight someone from this list before a title shot.

AlexanderEvansOrtiz JardineGriffinLiddell

mrsmiley

9/23/07 8:15:59PM

I think Machida looked pretty good.Nakumara is actualy a pretty tough guy if you ask me.He's just always on one extreame or another.

You either see Nakumara at his best,or at his worst.

While I don't think Machida will be a champion by next year,I do believe he could possibly be a contender.

jgtribbett

9/24/07 12:43:39AM

i see a future for him too.. but him, just like jon fitch and houston... i dont think these three will take titles untile they have one really really hard fought loss... i dont know there histories necessarily.. but undefeated? i mean... jon fitch has been since he lost to wilson gouveia in hooknshoot. i have taht video.. and back then he wasnt anything but a wreslter who had some instruction from tom erikson. i think guys like machida need a good loss and then they'll step their game up and be the champs that they could be

StriderXero

9/24/07 12:59:57AM

I like Machida, even though he is sort of boring. I think they should give him Jardine, Alexander, or Griffin next to really see what he got.

cmill21

9/24/07 1:13:50AM

Posted by StriderXero

I like Machida, even though he is sort of boring. I think they should give him Jardine, Alexander, or Griffin next to really see what he got.

I dunno I like watching him beat people up for three rounds.

ac_gi

9/24/07 2:08:13AM

I think Jardine would be a bad match up for him. Machida's karate stance combined with Jardine's propensity to throw vicious leg kicks would throw Machida off of his game. I think Machida is a good fighter, not great. I would have liked to seen a rematch with Franklin, instead of franklin most likely suffering another KO loss to Silva.

Sam_Rothstein

9/24/07 3:06:43AM

I don't really know if hes being overlooked, I think the ufc just prefers to promote people stronger when they finish fights or have exciting fights

Machida is a good fighter and is very elusive, it is just he is not pleasing to your average new mma fan

He almost reminds me of a floyd mayweather of mma, hes not really that fun of a fighter to watch unless you are very big into the sport. He is very elusive just like floyd and also is undefeated just like floyd. Most of his fights go to decision, just like floyd

a machida fight is probably the easiast 11 points you will ever earn on an event